After being away from NYCB for a decade, working on various Broadway shows, Jerome Robbins returned home to the company after he received a letter from Lincoln Kirstein invited him back. The company had changed a lot since Robbins had left and he was nervous to come back. He decided to ease his way back in and have his first piece be a small pas de deux with two dancers he was already comfortable working with. Robbins chose Patricia McBride & Edward Villella.
Eddie wrote: “I’ve known Jerry for years and years, but was never really close to him. It wasn’t until Dances at a Gathering that we really got close. Pat McBride and I were the first two people he worked with on Dances. I came early to rehearsal. I warmed up and I saw Jerry walk in. He was an absolute nervous wreck. I walked over to him and said how exciting it was for us to work with him. Inside of an hour, Jerry really got into it. He did most of our part in that first rehearsal. He’s a very slow worker. He tries to be verbal at times, but I think he’s much more successful in demonstrating.”--Private World of Ballet
McBride, Villela & Robbins. Photos by Martha Swope, 1969. NYPL
Expanding the Pas de Deux to a Whole Ballet
When Balanchine came in to view the pas de deux that Robbins had created for Patti and Eddie, Balanchine said, "Keep going." So Robbins chose more Chopin music and 12 dancers to fill out his cast (he had chosen Jacques d'Amboise and Melissa Hayden, but after a few rehearsals, they both declined to be in the ballet, so the cast became just 10).
Choosing a title for the ballet proved challenging for Robbins. He said in an interview with Edwin Denby, “It was a hard title to find. I was going to say 'Dances: Chopin, In open Air', but that wasn’t the right title. 'Some Dances' is sort of flat. If you say '18 Dances' or '19 Dances', it divides them into compartments.” He settle on Dances at a Gathering which leads audiences to envision a picnic in the meadow, a walk in the woods, or stroll in the town square. The Gathering implies that the people know each other and have a shared past. Throughout the ballet we see different relationships develop or continue. We see friendship and romance and rivalry.
(left) Sara Leland (blue) Patricia McBride (pink) Anthony Blum (mustard) Robert Maiorano (plum) John (center) Allegra Kent and John Clifford
(right) Anthony Blum
This post contains affiliate links
Comments